Karan Johar has recently opened up about Bollywood movies and a filmmaker’s power and responsibility. During the event, Johar noted that one movie cannot change societal perceptions overnight. However, he believes that cinema brings a change in society over a period of time.

He also opened up about “harmful” movies that are being made in Bollywood. “There have been films that continue to be harmful, but I hope those filmmakers realize with time how important the platform they have is,” Johar noted. He urged filmmakers to realize how important their voices are.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena Thursday afternoon to campaign for the BJP, ripped into the Congress on the inheritance tax row, and restated controversial remarks about Muslims and the opposition party’s alleged plans to “redistribute wealth to infiltrators”.

The remarks came hours before a significant first by the Election Commission in Delhi; the poll panel issued notices to BJP boss JP Nadda and his Congress counterpart, Mallikarjun Kharge, on complaints by each other accusing Mr Modi and Rahul Gandhi of hate speech and Model Code violations.

The EC’s show-cause notice did not mention either the PM or Mr Gandhi, or even Mr Kharge, in the context of the alleged hate speeches. It did, however, attach copies of the complaint in its notices and, for the first time, held party bosses responsible for their star campaigners’ speeches.

READ | On Complaints Against PM, Rahul, Poll Body’s Notice To Parties

Essentially, the EC said it required Mr Nadda and Mr Kharge to ensure BJP and Congress star campaigners must follow its guidelines on “a higher quality of discourse”.

Speaking in Morena, the PM alleged the Congress wanted to re-impose the inheritance tax abolished by Rajiv Gandhi. Mr Modi said the former Prime Minister did so to save the majority of the wealth of his mother, ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, from going to the government. “After benefitting from it… the Congress now wants to impose it on the people of the country”, he claimed.

READ | “Have Not Said…”: Rahul On “Wealth Redistribution” Row, PM’s Jabs

“If the Congress comes to power… it will snatch over half of your earnings via inheritance tax,” he continued, taking a swing at senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda. “An adviser to the opposition party’s ‘shehzada‘ (‘prince’, a standard jibe at Mr Gandhi) has suggested imposition of inheritance tax…”

NDTV FACT CHECK | Has Congress Really Promised ‘Wealth Redistribution’?

“The wealth you got by working hard and enduring hardships will be looted from you if a Congress-led government is formed… (but) as long as BJP is there, it will not allow such designs. Modi is a wall between you and the Congress’ plan to loot you,” the Prime Minister thundered.

He claimed also that the Congress wants to “confiscate people’s jewellery and small-savings by conducting an X-ray of their properties and valuables”. The reference was to a comment by Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, when he said the Congress, if elected, would conduct a national caste survey, which will include an economic report, to “find out how much injustice was done”.

The comments echoed those he made first in Rajasthan’s Banswara – which triggered the Congress’ complaint – when he declared his rivals would “not even leave your ‘mangalsutra‘…”

READ | Row After PM Says “Congress To Distribute Assets To Infiltrators”

“Congress manifesto says they will calculate gold with mothers and sisters… and then distribute… Manmohan Singh’s government had said Muslims have first right on the country’s assets… it will be distributed to those who have more children… it will be distributed to the infiltrators…” he claimed.

In his Morena speech the Prime Minister also referred, again, to the Congress’ manifesto as being “influenced” by the Muslim League. Earlier he had called it a “Muslim League imprint”, drawing a fierce retort from the Congress, for whom Mr Kharge said, “They themselves were with the Muslim League. Their ideologue formed a government with the Muslim League in Bengal…”

READ | “Its Best Friend…”: Kharge On BJP’s “Muslim League Imprint” Jab

Mr Modi’s remarks provoked a furious response from the Congress, which accused the Prime Minister of lying to divert voters’ attention from genuine issues. Rahul Gandhi posted on X that Mr Modi had been left worried by reports of a poor showing in the first phase.

The opposition party promptly approached the Election Commission “to highlight completely unprecedented and malicious allegations… clearly aimed at creating enmity between groups”.

READ | “Must Act”: Congress To Poll Panel On PM’s “Wealth To Infiltrators” Jab

The BJP had also filed a complaint against the Congress, alleging that Rahul Gandhi’s speeches in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore and Kerala’s Kottayam, in which he spoke about the ‘one nation, one election’ idea and referred to the linguistic row between the southern states and the saffron party.

In its complaint to the EC, the BJP slammed Mr Gandhi as a “habitual offender” and also accused Mr Kharge of “grossly misleading voters by declaring the BJP is going to change the Constitution…”

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Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax after his mother Indira Gandhi’s death in 1984 to save her wealth from going to the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, alleging that the Congress now wants to bring back the levy.

As the high-decibel canvassing for Lok Sabha polls sent political temperatures soaring, the BJP’s star campaigner doubled down on his wealth redistribution and inheritance tax charge at the Congress and vowed to protect people’s wealth from what he called the rival party’s plans to loot them.

Addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena, where voting will take place on May 7, PM Modi escalated his attack on the Congress and accused it of “cutting off the country’s hands” by accepting Partition on the basis of religion.

Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax, a levy imposed on inherited movable and immovable assets, in 1985 after his mother Indira Gandhi’s death to save her wealth from going to the government, PM Modi said.

“Note the sins the Congress has committed. I want to put forth an interesting fact. When Indira Gandhi passed away, there was a law by virtue of which half the wealth would go to the government. There were talks that Indira ji had willed her wealth to her son Rajiv Gandhi,” PM Modi said.

“To save the money from going to the government, Rajiv Gandhi abolished the inheritance tax,” the PM said.

If the main Opposition party comes to power, it will snatch more than half of people’s earnings through inheritance tax, the PM warned voters, latching onto the controversial remarks made by US-based senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda.

A day after Rahul Gandhi’s remark that those who call themselves “deshbhakt (patriots)” are scared of a caste census, PM Modi said the Congress wants to confiscate people’s jewellery and small savings by conducting an X-ray of their properties and valuables.

An adviser to the Opposition’s ‘shehzada‘ – a referrence to Rahul Gandhi – has now suggested imposition of an inheritance tax, he said.

The Congress wants to bring back the tax now that its four generations have reaped the benefits of the wealth that was passed on to them, he said.

But the BJP will not allow such designs to succeed, the PM assured the crowd. “The wealth that you have accumulated by working hard and enduring hardships will be looted from you once a Congress-led government is formed,” he said.

“Modi with his 56-inch chest is standing as a wall between you and the Congress’ plan to loot you. That is why Congress leaders and the Opposition abuse me so much,” he said.

He accused the Congress of accepting Partition of the country on religious lines.

“Instead of unshackling the hands of ‘Maa Bharti‘, the Congress cut off her hands and divided the country,” he alleged.

The Congress wants to snatch reservation of SCs/STs/OBCs for the sake of its Muslim vote-bank and is bent on grabbing power with religious appeasement, he said.

“The Congress says Muslims have the first right on the country’s resources, while I say the poor have the first right on them,” he emphasised.

Calling himself as ‘kaamdar (working class)’ and Rahul Gandhi as ‘naamdar (dynast)’, the PM said, “Nowadays, the shehzada of the Congress is enjoying abusing Modi. We are there to listen to the abuses from the ‘naamdaars‘ but I will continue serving the people and ‘Maa Bharti.”

The Congress has been hatching a conspiracy to deprive tribals and backward classes of their rights, he said.

“Will you ensure a total washout of those snatching the rights of backward classes?” he asked.

The BJP government has been providing free ration to 80 crore people without any discrimination, he said. “Have you ever heard someone is not getting free ration because he is a Muslim?” he asked.

When the Constitution was drafted, it was decided reservation in jobs and education won’t be given on religious lines. BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, was against quota on religious lines, but the Congress gave it through the backdoor and “stabbed” him in the back, he alleged.

Further targeting the Congress, PM Modi said it has clandestinely put many Muslims illegally in the OBC category in Karnataka, where the party is in power.

Providing reservation to Muslims was unlawful and against the Constitution, he said.

The Congress manifesto talks about religion-based quota in jobs and education and the document is is influenced by pro-Partition Muslim League, Modi alleged.

When a Congress-led government was formed at the Centre, it first introduced religion-based quota in Andhra Pradesh, PM Modi said, adding that the party “wants to implement this model (of reservation) throughout the country.”

“On December 19, 2011, the Congress brought a note in the Cabinet on religion basis. The note said a portion of 27% reservation given to OBCs should be cut out and given on religious lines,” he stressed.

“The Congress, by snatching the rights of OBCs, wants to give reservation to strengthen its favourite vote-bank,” he claimed.